The Write Kind of Love
by JoshingAbout
Summary: Episode 2/22 of "Charmed Again". When a spell goes awry Penelope, Charlotte and Grace Halliwell must find a way to escape the living nightmare they've entered before the consequences of the past can claim their lives - or before Phoebe finds out!
1. Storybook

**Disclaimer:  
I do not own Charmed or any of its established characters. Any non-canon characters and situations are of my own creation.**

**Author's Note:  
THIS EPISODE IS ONLY ABOUT PHOEBE AND COOP'S THREE DAUGHTERS. There is already an episode about Piper and Leo's children, and an episode about Paige and Henry's children is in the works.**

* * *

**Episode 1x02:  
**"The Write Kind of Love"

A golden light poured through the windows of the second Halliwell residence, illuminating the dining room with a warm, sun-kissed glow. At the end of the table sat a blonde-haired girl. She was snuggled up in a pink and fluffy dressing-gown with an almost-finished bowl of cereal on the table in front of her and had a book held up to her face. It was as if the Nymphs had taken extra care today and even outdone their regular duties, as the blooming flowers which sat in a tall vase on the dining room table released a pleasant fragrance which filled the girl's lungs and lifted her spirits. The figure was of Charlotte Halliwell, the half-witch half-cupid middle child of Phoebe Halliwell. The picture-perfect household was hard to imagine in any other way that wasn't sheer perfection. Even the fact of an earthquake rippling through San Francisco a few hours before hadn't hindered the beauty and atmosphere of the Halliwell household. The next generation of Halliwell witches had been gifted with an easy life that was, for the most part, free from evil and magical mayhem. With a rose-tinted world such as this, it was hard for them to contemplate the idea that anything could go wrong, and it was so easy for them to believe that it would stay perfect forever. How wrong they were.

A dark-haired girl entered the dining room and headed towards Charlotte but something caught her eye and she stopped suddenly. She turned to face a portrait that was hung on the wall, slightly askew. "There you go, Grams," the girl smiled as she fixed the frame so it was centred on the wall. She made her way to the table and flopped into a chair next to Charlotte and yawned.

"Tired, Grace?" Charlotte asked her younger sister.

"Yeah, I hardly got any sleep last night."

"How come? The earthquake didn't last that long," Charlotte noted, her face still buried into her book.

"Oh, I'm not talking about that! I'm on about Penny! I don't think she could have had sex _any louder_ last night!"

"Ugh, I know, right?" Charlotte agreed, finally removing herself from her book and hastily slapping it down on the table.

"I think I'm scarred for life," Grace sighed, "the thought of her and … what was his name?"

"Not a clue-"

"The thought of them two at it like rabbits goes through me," Grace grimaced, "I swear, with the amount of guys she brings home a week they must think we're running a brothel! I heard enough last night to put me off sex forever."

"_HEARD? _Ha! Try being an empath! I _FELT_ it!" the blonde cringed and shuddered.

"Ooh, unlucky, sis," Grace said, smiling awkwardly. "Oh dear, do you think mom felt it as well?"

"If she didn't feel it she definitely heard it!" Charlotte laughed. "Are mom and dad still in bed?"

"Yeah, they're having a lie-in today. Mom's working from home," the younger witch answered.

"Morning!" a voice exclaimed, and in walked the eldest of Phoebe's daughters, Penelope 'Penny' Halliwell. She was dressed in a red frilly midriff-exposing top with tight-fitting jeans and pair of high-heeled shoes. She smiled at her two younger siblings, "Sleep well, you two? Before the earthquake intervened, at least?"

Charlotte and Grace quickly shot each other an awkward glance. "Oh yeah, we slept just fine last night. How about you, Penny? Did you have a good night last night?" Grace said slyly, looking up at her sister with a strangely enthusiastic smile that stretched from ear-to-ear.

The eldest witch playfully glared at her sister before a beaming smile spread across her lips. "As a matter of fact I had a great night."

The middle sister looked Penny up-and-down and smirked, "So, why're you all dolled up? Are you off out with…" she turned to her younger sibling with a puzzled look across her face, "what was his name again?" Grace shrugged.

Penny's playful glare intensified. "Cute – and for your information his name is…" she paused for a second and cast her gaze upwards, trying to remember the guy's name, "Rico! Rico has gone and I am off out to a photo shoot – two, actually." Penny nodded towards the book on the table in front of Charlotte, "Ah, so you're reading mom's book? How far have you read into it?"

"Uhh, Clay has just left the Urn at the auction house to be sold off and the Guardian is after him," Charlotte answered.

"Is that all you've gotten up to? We've had it for two days already. I'm up to where Belthazor has just realised he's in love with Faye and she can't bring herself to vanquish him."

"Ha, I'm passed you both," Grace said gleefully, "I'm reading about how the Angel of Death is after Giles –obviously Miles - because Faye won't let him die."

"Spoiler, much?" Charlotte said, clearly annoyed.

"Oh, please. We all know the stories, they're in the Book of Shadows for cryin' out loud!" Grace retorted.

"Yeah, you're right! These stories are based on mom's past loves before dad… Hmm…" A devious smile sprung across Penelope's face.

"What are you getting at?" Charlotte inquired.

"Well, why do we have to read the stories when we have access to the real thing? Follow me!" the elder witch spun on her heel and made for the stairs. Grace and Charlotte shot at each other a confused look before following their sister to her room.

"Penny, slow down! What are you planning?" Grace called after her.

"Simple! We conjure a little show! Instead of reading about mom's previous loves, we could just watch!"

"And which part of this doesn't scream 'Personal Gain'?" Charlotte pointed out.

"It's not personal gain…" Penny trailed off, thinking of an excuse, "it would be a way for us to learn from out mother's magical mistakes so we don't make them too – and the less mistakes we make, the more good we can do," she grinned.

"I'm all for that," Grace chimed in.

"Are you sure this is a good idea? There could be consequences," warned Charlotte.

"Not with the right wording," Penny replied, pulling out a pen and pad of paper from her dresser drawer. She started scribbling a few ideas onto the pad and then handed it over to Grace.

The youngest sister raised an eyebrow, "You think that'll work? We need to include what we're gonna see the past loves on, I doubt a vision is gonna just float in mid-air for us… have you got any clear surfaces we could use?"

Penny looked around, slightly embarrassed at her cluttered room, "Uh, no… but," she reached to the top of her wardrobe and pulled down a huge piece of paper, "maybe this could work?" she suggested as she pinned it across the breadth of the wardrobe.

Grace nodded and then turned to face her concerned sister, "You in, Charlotte?"

A knot formed in Charlotte's gut and her face contorted with confusion. She sighed, and let all her worries go, "Oh, all right, I'm in."

"Tell me what you think," Grace said as she passed the blonde witch the piece of paper with the makings of the spell.

"Hmm," Charlotte mumbled to herself, "I think we should be a bit more specific on what we want to see, I mean, mom had good and bad loves, you know? I'm assuming we want to see them all." She took the pen from Grace and wrote a few additions and changes to the spell, "How about that?

Grace took the paper, glazed her eyes over it and nodded, "Okay, so the spell's done. Do we need anything else?"

"I shouldn't imagine so," Penny said as music sounded from her cell phone. She moved over to her dresser drawer and answered it. "Oh, hey Dave, what's up? … Oh, okay, I'll be right there."

"Who was that?" Grace asked, a little deflated.

"My boss. They want me in now even though the shoot isn't until eleven, ugh, typical. I'm afraid I'm gonna have to bail."

"But this was your idea!" Grace urged.

"I know, but I really have to go. We'll do this later – _don't_ start without me!" Penny ordered before leaving the room.

"What about you, sis? Are you staying for the show?"

Charlotte smiled awkwardly from behind the cell phone she held to her face, "About that… I forgot that I have to meet Jody at the Magic School library; I promised I'd help her study for her History of Magic exam re-sit. Sorry."

"Ugh, fine. I didn't want to do it anyway," Grace sulked as she headed to her room. She dived onto her bed and reached under her pillow. She withdrew her copy of her mother's book and began to read it. After a few minutes of swift annoyance-fuelled reading, Grace sighed and stopped following the words in front of her. She lay on her bed motionless for a moment before sitting up suddenly with a look of determination plastered over her face. She slipped off of the bed with the book still in her hand and tip-toed back towards Penny's room, quietly shutting the door behind her. "Watching the movie twice never hurt anyone," she said to herself as she crossed the empty room to the dresser drawers. She picked up the piece of paper with the spell upon it at put down her book in its stead. Taking in a deep breath she read aloud:

"_To keep us all that much safer,  
Bestow the sight upon this paper,  
The past of the heart so pure,  
Of the pain and loss she has endured,  
From the dark below to the light above,  
Show us now our mother's past loves."_

A gust of wind zipped around the room and ripped the piece of paper out of Grace's hand. A trail of golden smoke and glitter spiralled around her feet and swiftly worked its way up her body. She tried to move but was frozen in place by an unseen force. "Crap!" she exclaimed before the glittery smoke engulfed her completely like a silky caramel cocoon. She squirmed against the magical force but to no avail. The winds blew around the room and flipped open the book that Grace was reading. The dazzling cocoon melted into pale wisps of smoke and they shot forward into the open book, illuminating the room in a bright yellow hue. After a moment the intense light faded, the wind died down and Grace was nowhere to be seen. All that was left of her was the book she was reading, which was forcibly held open on a page titled "The Man Who Was Meant to Die".

* * *

**Author's Note: Please leave a review!**


	2. Blasts From the Past

**Disclaimer:  
I do not own Charmed or any of its established characters. Any non-canon characters and situations are of my own creation.**

* * *

**Episode 1x02:**

"The Write Kind of Love"

The wisp of golden mist emerged as if from nowhere then quickly dissolved, revealing a young girl who fell to the floor with a thud.

"Right wording my ass," she groaned, rubbing her behind as she picked herself off the floor. "Where the hell am I?"

Grace looked around and found herself in an alleyway. The sound of sirens met her ears as a young man rushed past her. Another man, tall and handsome, entered the alleyway as police vehicles began to swarm the alleyway's entrance. The policemen pulled out their firearms and aimed them at the three people in the passageway.

The first man spun around and pulled out his own weapon from inside his jacket pocket and pointed it in the direction of the police, ready to pull the trigger. Grace, sensing what was about to happen, launched herself at the handsome man who stood directly in harm's way, latching onto him and pushing him to the ground.

A shot was fired and the bullet just missed Grace and the man she had knocked to the floor. It smashed through a police vehicle's windscreen and left a small circular hole in the glass. A return shot was fired and the gun-wielding man let out a gasp of pain as the speeding bullet ripped through his body and forced him to the ground. A number of policemen ran over to him, quickly locked him up in cuffs and called an ambulance to check his wound.

Grace's face was awkwardly close to the man's below her. Taking a good look at him her eyes suddenly widened: "Miles?" she exclaimed as she moved herself off the man she'd saved and helped him to his feet.

"Giles – but, thank you! You saved my life!"

"Giles!" a voice shouted with happiness. Grace turned to see two women enter the alleyway, who happened to look exactly like her mother and Aunt Piper!

"Mo-um… Phoebe?" Grace asked the woman who now closely embraced Giles.

"Faye," she replied with a beaming smile on her face. "Thank you so much!" While she looked ecstatic the woman who resembled Aunt Piper did not look pleased at all.

"Anytime," Grace mumbled through a forced smile. The two women and Giles exited the scene and left the young witch in the alleyway. "What have I done...?"

* * *

Charlotte sat next to her friend Jody in one of the Magic School study rooms, pouring over the numerous books of magical history that lay open before them on the long, wooden table.

"I think we've been over every magical detail in the last three hundred years!" the blonde witch-cupid groaned as she unenthusiastically turned over another page of history.

"I know, I know, but I really need this grade. I actually want to graduate next year. It's a shame that nothing interesting has happened in the last _ever_… Say, your family line has done some pretty extraordinary things, though…"

"And…?"

"Well… would you mind if I wrote my essay about the feats of Warren magic? That's hundreds of years of history right there! And I'd have my very own expert…" Jody said with a hinting smile on her face.

Charlotte sighed, "Fine. But you owe me."

"Yay! Well, we've already read up on a lot of the older generations of the Warren line in these old books, but they don't detail the more recent generation. Your mom is a Charmed One – could you name some memorable stuff that they've accomplished?"

"They've accomplished so much in their time as the Charmed Ones I wouldn't know where to begin. If I had to say what the most memorable thing that they've achieved was, I'd say it's the sheer amount of innocent people they've saved. Yeah, they've vanquished powerful evil like The Source and the Evil Charmed Ones, but to me, that isn't their greatest achievement. Because of them, hundreds of people get to live their lives without fear. That in itself is amazing," Charlotte answered.

Jody seemed somewhat surprised at her answer. "Wow, I never thought of it like that…" she said, scribbling what Charlotte had said. "Okay, next question: as a Warren witch, do you see yourself and your cousins taking up the mantle of the Charmed Ones? Vanquishing evil and protecting the innocent in their time of need?"

"Oh, I-I guess I'd never thought about it," Charlotte replied, "we've lead a relatively evil-free life thank to my mom and aunts and it's strange to think of it any other way. But if I could help people to live their lives without the threat of evil, then of course I'd be happy to do my part. For me, it's not about my duty as a witch… I just like helping people. I'm sure my cousins feel similarly. I mean, Henry is a trainee parole officer – he definitely wants to help people. I must admit I'd like to avoid contact with demons as much as anyone else, but if push comes to shove… I guess I'll be there. I want to protect my friends, family and all that is good in the world."

"Ooh, deep," Jody commented as she frantically wrote down what Charlotte had just said. She set down her pen and said: "That should be more than enough! I'm sick of studying now. Fancy getting brunch?"

"Sounds good," Charlotte replied as the two packed away the borrowed books and gathered their things. They left the study room and made their way along one of Magic School's many hallways. The girls walked passed an open door and Charlotte couldn't help but glance to the room inside. She saw her cousin, Melinda, looking rather desperate and uninterested as her father talked to her and other witches in the class.

Melinda spotted her cousin at the door and mouthed, "Save me!"

"Sorry," Charlotte mouthed back and waved her cousin goodbye. The blonde Halliwell and her friend tread down the corridor and headed off to their brunch.

* * *

Penny crossed a large dressing room that was filled with mirrors, mounds of make-up and hangers draped in fancy clothes and knocked on the door at the end of the room.

"Come in," said a voice on the other side.

Penny opened the door and stepped into the room. "Hey, Dave - what's up? How come you wanted me in so early?"

The man in question swivelled around in his chair to face the young Halliwell and answered, "Unfortunately we've had to move this morning's shoot forward by an hour or so. I know it's really short notice and I'm sorry, but the client is being particularly awkward."

"Oh, that's fine by me. I've been looking forward to this shoot for weeks! When can we get started?" the young witch grinned.

Penny was whisked away by the set designers and moved to the dressing room, where make-up artists and fashion stylists crowded around her and the other models, sorting out attire, hairstyles and appropriate make-up accessories.

The photo shoot had the theme of "Youth of San Francisco" and was to portray twelve attractive youths from the city – each person was to represent the month that they were born, with Penny featuring in July.

She stood in front of a large picturesque backdrop of a bright and sunny beach with golden sand and clear blue skies. She posed in a variety of ways and in a number of costumes, including a bold orange silk two-piece bathing suit and a thigh-length dress with a thick belt clasped around her waist and a silver chain that dangled from around her neck.

Eventually the photographer sighed and stepped out from behind the camera in front of her face. "The shots are great… but there's something missing," after a short pause, she continued, "Penny, what would _you_ wear in the summer?"

With that, Penny was prompted to head to the dressing room and suit herself up with her own style. She walked back onto the set wearing a short-sleeved, midriff-exposing yellow and white striped shirt with tight-fitting denim jeans with a yellow belt with a sunflower buckle set to the side of her hip, finished with her hair clipped back, toe-revealing high-heeled shoes and a yellow beaded bracelet clasped around her wrist.

"Now, don't _pose_, per se. Just be _you_," the photographer said.

Although easier said than done, Penny excelled in being herself. She flirted with the camera with laughs and smiles. After a while, the photographer seemed content as she moved from behind the device in front of her.

"Great shoot, Penny!"

"I had a blast!" the young Halliwell replied as the two headed off into the dressing room once again.

The photographer called in the next model for the shoot while Penny sat down in front of a huge dressing-room mirror and began to change back into her own clothes. There was a knock on the door and Dave poked his head around the dressing room door.

"Penny, are you decent?" he said with his eyes closed.

"Yeah," the young witch laughed. "I'm decent."

"Good," Dave said, stepping into the room properly as another man followed behind him. This other man had spiky blonde hair, black thick-rimmed glasses and was dressed in a very formal shirt and tight-fitting waist coat with black pants and shoes. "Penny, this is Charles Brennan, who commissioned today's shoot."

"Very nice to meet you," Penny said enthusiastically, shaking Charles' hand.

"Yes, it is," he replied.

Penny didn't quite know what to say… After a slight pause she began to speak once again. "Can I just say that I've been looking forward to this shoot ever since Dave told me that you'd picked me for the part of July."

"And I must say that judging by your performance today you did not disappoint," Charles replied, expressionless.

"Oh good!" Penny said, holding a hand to her chest, "I was terrified I'd fluff this up."

"Oh no, my dear. You were fantastic. A bright side better than the other models so far as well," Charles said, this time with a hint of a smile peeking through his lips. Penny smiled. "As soon as I saw your portfolio I knew you were perfect for the shoot. I just wonder why you settle for San Francisco when you could be doing so much better! L.A, New York, and the like!"

"I'm content here. I don't feel like I have to be the best at what I do as long as I do my best and have the time of my life while doing it," Penny smiled, "but I also have other commitments that keep me here, like my family."

"Can't you hire carers for that kind of thing?"

"Oh, no! It's not anything like that. I just have responsibilities at home that I need to uphold."

"I see…" Charles said with a slight tone of disappointment.

"Oh, by the way: how come the shoot was pushed forward an hour?" Penny asked.

"My alarm clock woke me up much earlier than it should have and I can't stand being in that hotel room longer than I need to," Charles replied. Dave rolled his eyes.

"And we were more than happy to accommodate our client's needs," Dave said through a forced smile.

"I trust that you're looking forward to this afternoon's shoot?" Charles asked.

"Of course!" Penny beamed.

"Good. We'll see you back here at two o'clock sharp."

"I'll definitely be there."

Charles spun in his heel and left the room. Rolling his eyes once more Dave followed his client out of the room, leaving a grinning Penny on her own in the dressing room. She picked up her things before merrily making her way home for lunch.

* * *

Phoebe awoke to find her husband's arm clasped tightly around her side. She stirred, yawned and stretched before removing the covers and stepping out of bed. Coop groaned at his wife's absence in the warm bed.

"Oh wow, is that the time?" Phoebe said, shocked, as she stared at her alarm clock.

"You needed a long lie-in," Coop declared, "You've been working yourself silly the past few weeks." He climbed out of bed as the couple dressed to face whatever today had to throw at them.

Phoebe stepped out onto the landing when something got her attention. "Coop, is it just me, or is it quiet… too quiet?" she narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"I'm sure the girls are just thinking of us and keeping themselves quiet."

"I did sleep like a log last night. Hmm, maybe you're right…" Phoebe tip-toed down the hall and stood outside Penny and Charlotte's side-by-side rooms. No discernable sound could be heard from either room. She knocked on Penny's bedroom door before opening it, revealing a seriously messy room. The elder witch sighed, both at the bedroom mess and the absence of her eldest daughter.

"Penny? Charlotte? Grace?" Phoebe called. No one shouted back. "I wonder where they are…"

* * *

An arched door appeared underneath the stairs. It opened and out stepped a blonde-haired girl. As the door shut behind her it vanished in a flash of light.

Charlotte set her things down upon the living room coffee table as she heard a gentle knock on the front door. She hurried over to the door and opened it to a tall, dark-haired and handsome, tanned man. It took Charlotte a second to realise who it was.

"Oh, hey… Rico?" she half-smiled.

The man laughed to himself and smiled back, "It's Ricky."

Charlotte grimaced at her – and Penny's – mistake, "Ooh, sorry."

"No problem. Is Penny home?"

"I'm afraid not, sorry. Have you tried her cell?"

"Yeah, but it's switched off."

"Probably because she's at work."

"Ah, okay. Can you tell her that I called?" he asked.

"Of course."

"Thanks," he said. Ricky was about to turn away when another question burst from his lips. "Um, before I go, I was wondering… Penny definitely _is_ single, isn't she? I'm not just the bit on the side?"

"Yeah, she's single," Charlotte laughed.

"Good, because I really like her."

The middle sister smiled at his honesty, "Well, make sure to let her know that."

"I will! Well, I'd best be off now, bye." Ricky said before making his way down the path onto the street beyond.

After Charlotte had closed the door footsteps rushed down the stairs. "There you are!" Phoebe exclaimed. "I just called for you."

"Sorry, mom. I didn't hear you," Charlotte replied.

"Who was at the door?"

"Ricky."

"Who's Ricky?" Phoebe asked with apparent interest.

"Oh, one of Penny's flings."

Phoebe laughed, "Give the girl some credit. She's just a free spirit."

"That isn't the term that most people would use…"

"Anyway," Phoebe interjected, "where _are_ your sisters?"

"Penny's at work and Grace… should be here? I've just gotten back from Magic School. I offered to help Jody study for her History of Magic exam. What a drag."

"Sounds fun. Hmm, maybe Grace is out with friends? I just wondered where she was."

"I could always try her cell?"

"Yeah, that'd be good. Your dad and I are gonna make some lunch. Are you hungry?"

"Oh no, I've already eaten, thanks."

Phoebe headed to the kitchen with a spring in her step. Coop stepped down the stairs and greeted his daughter with a smile.

"Ah, at least one of our daughters hasn't abandoned us," he joked as he too headed to the kitchen after giving his second daughter an affectionate kiss on the head.

Charlotte picked up her things and made her way upstairs. She flipped her cell phone to her ear and dialled her younger sister's number. A loud sound came from upstairs. Charlotte gave a sigh of annoyance as she realised the sound was in fact Grace's phone. "So irresponsible," she grumbled to herself. The corner of her eye caught sight of Penny's open bedroom door and the mess that was strewn across the room.

_What on Earth? It wasn't __**this**__ messy this morning, _she thought to herself.

She stepped into her sister's room and heard a _crunch_ from under her foot. Charlotte bent down and retrieved the crumpled paper that bore the spell that she and her sisters had written a few hours earlier. An idea flashed through her mind: one that she wasn't sure she should act upon. Charlotte turned to the open door and hesitated, listening for any signs of movement. She peeked her head out of the door into the corridor to make sure her parents were nowhere near. Realising she was in the clear, Charlotte closed the door and sat down on Penny's bed with the spell held firmly in hand.

"Should I? Shouldn't I?" she debated to herself, her moral compass spinning erratically. "A little preview won't do any harm…" she finally convinced herself. She sighed and slowly recanted the following words:

"_To keep us all that much safer,  
Bestow the sight upon this paper,  
The past of the heart so pure,  
Of the pain and loss she has endured,  
From the dark below to the light above,  
Show us now our mother's past loves."_

Wind zipped around the room and tore the spell from Charlotte's grip. Before she could react, she was engulfed in a swirling, golden mist from head to toe. Her mother's storybook snapped open and the witch-cupid was sent hurling into the open tome.

* * *

Charlotte stumbled as she reappeared in what appeared to be an office. It was void of people but full of antique pieces of artwork. The office was pristine – everything was in its rightful place bar one thing that stuck out in stark contrast: a large blue urn with coloured gems and golden engravings.

Instantly drawn to it, Charlotte stepped across the room, picked it up and caressed its intricate surface with her soft hands. She turned towards the open door when a large hieroglyph of a stern-looking woman began to glow brightly. Worried, she set the urn down on the desk and stepped back. A stream of dazzling golden glitter glided away from the cursed treasure and took the form of a tall and intimidating woman who was draped in a long, golden gown with a great, arched crown upon her head and jewels set around her neck.

"I am the Guardian of the Urn you wish to steal," she announced in a deep, monotone voice.

"Oh, no, I wasn't _stealing_ the Urn! I was simply admiring it!" Charlotte protested.

The Guardian smiled. "For your greed... you must be punished." She took a brooch from her jewelled accessories and set it upon the table. The brooch morphed into a thick, black, hairy and menacing spider that hissed at Charlotte.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Charlotte said, raising up her hands and backing further away from the spider across the room, "I'm sensing a lot of… _vengeance_ coming from you right now. But I assure you that I'm not a threat or a thief." She glanced around the room and found a statue of a small bird. She closed her eyes and let the Guardian's emotions seep into her soul, channelling the Guardian's morphing powers onto the bird statue. It sprung to life and began to zip around the room, chirping as it went. "Try to be _joyful_ instead!" Charlotte smiled at the Guardian, hoping that she'd gotten her message across.

The Guardian motioned her hand forward and the spider leapt from the desk and collided with the joyful songbird, dragging to the floor. Charlotte let out a scream as the spider began to devour the bird with animalistic vigour. She sped out of the room as fast as her legs could carry her and ran down the corridor.

"Foolish girl," the Guardian said softly as she idly watched her arachnid companion enjoy its meal.

* * *

**Author's Note: PLEASE leave a review!**


	3. Writing Wrongs

**Disclaimer:  
I do not own Charmed or any of its established characters. Any non-canon characters and situations are of my own creation.**

* * *

**Episode 1x02:**

"The Write Kind of Love"

Grace found herself wandering the streets of San Francisco, unsure of what to do with herself. She had attempted to follow Faye and Giles to try and understand what was happening, but they were whisked off in 'Piper's car before she had the chance to ask. How was she going to get out of the mess that she'd thrown herself into?

She turned down an alleyway shortcut and suddenly stopped, bringing her hands to her face and sighing deeply. She was in way over her head.

"Can this day get any worse?" she asked herself.

As if on cue, darkness materialised in front of her and took the form of a tall man with greying hair who was clad in a long, black robe. Grace set her hands by her sides and jumped with fright at the sudden appearance of the strange man before her.

"No need to fear, Grace. I mean you no harm," he said.

"How do you know my name?" the startled witch asked.

"Death knows everyone."

"…You're Death?"

"Angel of Death, to be precise. But, more to the point, you are causing me quite a bit of grief."

"How do you mean?" the young witch wondered.

"You saved Giles," Death replied, "and in doing so you've halted my list," he flicked his wrist and a parchment appeared in his hand in a pinch of grey smoke. "You must right what was wronged – or their will be dire consequences."

"You want me to kill Giles?" Grace asked, shocked.

"No, no. I merely wish for you to allow him to die. However, saving him when you did now gives Faye an opportunity to continue to save his life."

"How am I meant to stop her from saving him?"

"Distract her. Do whatever it takes. I don't often offer help in regards to death, but I don't need my list becoming any more complicated." Death said before vanishing in a wisp of darkness.

Grace stood confused and distraught for a moment. How was she meant to let Giles die? How was she meant to clean up the mess she'd made? The questions that swirled around in her head suddenly evaporated. She inhaled a deep breath and set out of the alleyway on a mission. The witch hadn't the slightest idea of what to do, but she'd do whatever needed to be done to return home and avoid the consequences… somehow.

* * *

"I'm home!" Penny announced as she shut the door to her home behind her. She set her things on the living room coffee table before heading to the kitchen. She is greeted by the sight of her parents enjoying lunch together with a naughty glass of wine.

"You're home early," Phoebe noted.

"Yeah, I thought you had two shoots today?" Coop questioned.

"I do, but the food at work is awful. I thought I'd come home for a quick bite to eat," Penny answered. "Are Charlotte and Grace home?"

"Not sure about Grace but Charlotte is upstairs," Phoebe replied. "Do you want this last piece of quiche?"

"Ooh, yes please!" Penny answered as she scooped the food into her hand and bit into it. She left the kitchen and headed upstairs.

Coop looked upwards as a monotone jingling filled his ears. "Hmm, the Elders want me up there," he announced before finishing the last of his coffee and kissing his wife on the cheek. "I'll be back soon."

"You'd better be," Phoebe smiled as Coop faded from sight in a flash of pink light.

Penny marched up the stairs and made her way to her younger sister's room. "Charlotte?" she said as she knocked on the bedroom door. There was no answer. "You there, Charlotte?" the eldest sibling asked again, opening the door. The room was empty. "Hmm, I wonder where she'd be?" she muttered to herself. A smile suddenly sprung upon her lips as she turned and headed for the attic.

Penny had often blessed her mother's choice to buy a house that was so similar to the Halliwell Manor - it was fitted with both a basement and an attic and had a distinct vintage touch. She loved visiting Aunt Piper's home when she was a child as she adored looking through the Book of Shadows page by page. Moving to their current abode was much more fulfilling than living in the crowded condo where the family used to live until the arrival of Grace forced the family to seek larger accommodation.

"Charlotte?" The eldest sibling called again, pushing open the attic door and sighing in disappointment, for her sister was nowhere to be found. Penny noticed that there was an array of magical ingredients set out on the attic tables. She investigated the seemingly empty cauldrons and opened jars of herbs and powders, but found no evidence that her family had been making potions of any kind… especially not any vanquishing potions.

This wasn't like Charlotte at all. She doesn't just disappear without telling anyone where she was. Penny put her cell phone to her ear and rolled her eyes when Charlotte's phone went straight to its answer machine. Sighing, Penny tucked her phone into her pocket and sat down on the luxuriously comfortable sofa that was in the attic. A mischievous smiled danced upon her lips as a thought crossed her mind. She jumped up and pulled a nearby table towards her and set a scrap piece of parchment down over it before setting up a few plump cushions on the sofa behind her. She made herself comfortable, curling her legs up onto the sofa and snuggling into the soft fabric.

She closed her eyes and stretched out her hand. A faint red glow surrounded her hand and her heart and as she concentrated. A few seconds later a scrap of paper appeared in her outstretched hand. She recanted the magical words that were sprawled across its crumpled surface and instantly regretted it.

Wind exploded across the room as if from out of nowhere. A soft, golden mist swirled around her feet and trailed up her slender body, hoping to engulf her whole. Penny's hand and heart glowed red once more as she waved her arm fiercely, attempting to remove whatever was encasing her, to no avail. She was swallowed up by the golden trail as it suddenly shot across the attic and down the stairs. It soared through the air down the corridor and forcefully weaved itself into Penny's bedroom. Phoebe's storybook flipped open and mist that cocooned Penny dived into the open pages.

* * *

The whirling smoke evaporated as Penny appeared into view. She was in a small, dank and poorly-lit stone room. She barely had time to recognise the concrete tomb in front of her before a figure stepped out of the darkness.

"I've never seen a Warlock appear like that before," the figure breathed. He was tall, dark-haired and very handsome.

"I'm not a Warlock!" Penny corrected.

"Sure you're not," the man said, firing a sphere of crackling energy across the room as he threw out his arm.

Penny gasped in surprise as she quickly jumped out of the way. The demonic power surged past her and exploded a chunk of the wall behind her, leaving a dark scorch mark where it made contact.

The witch pulled herself up from the floor as the man launched another ball of energy from his palm. She jumped and soared across the room in mid air, avoiding the magical power before she lashed out her leg and struck her assailant hard in the face, knocking him back into the wall behind him as she settled herself onto the floor.

He snarled through bloodied teeth before he spun around to face his adversary with darkened eyes. "No matter how many of you _lesser_ beings try and absorb my power, you'll never have it!" the man's body shifted into that of a towering, red-skinned demon with black tribal markings across his face, "for I am the mighty Belthazor!" he roared as a flurry of large, powerful balls of electrical energy surged from his hands in Penny's direction.

"Belthazor _this_!" the witch retorted, whipping out her glowing-red hands at the encroaching power. The spheres of energy were engulfed in a red aura and were sent hurtling back at their conjuror. The demon's own powers slammed hard into his chest, knocking him clean off his feet and sending him crashing through the back wall of the mausoleum before he landed on the cemetery grass with a thump.

"Ha!" Penny snorted before standing proud and victorious over her aggressor. A sudden realisation washed over her as the events that had just taken place replayed in her mind. "Did he say Belthazor?" the witch mumbled to herself. She bit her lip in awkward guilt as the otherwise terrifying demon morphed back into his human form: the handsome half-demon Cole Turner. Penny stepped through the gaping hole in the mausoleum wall and rushed over to him. She pressed two fingers against his throat, checking for any signal that he was still alive. She breathed a sigh of relief as she felt the blood in veins pulsate against the tips of her fingers.

The young witch-cupid quickly glanced around, making sure that no one had observed the demon explode through a solid brick wall. The coast was clear. She gently wiped away the blood from Cole's face and then turned to swiftly exit the cemetery, as all she could do was hope that he'd still be alive when she returned.

* * *

Grace kicked herself for not arriving to the Manor sooner. Of course Faye would be there! It's where she lived! Duh.

The witch ascended the steps up to the Halliwell Manor and stopped just outside the front door. "Okay, I hope this works…" she sighed, racking her brain and hoping that the right words would come to her as she held out her hand and touched her fingers against the front door:

"_F__or those who want the truth revealed,  
Opened hearts and secrets unsealed,  
From now until it's now again,  
After which the memory… fades?  
__…T__hose who now are in this house,  
Will speak the truth from their own mouths._"

Grace composed herself before she tapped her knuckles against the Halliwell Manor's front door. A moment later the door opened and revealed the woman who looked exactly like her Aunt Piper.

"Hello? Oh – you're the girl who saved Giles," the woman remembered.

"Yeah. I was just wondering how Faye and Giles were okay." Grace asked.

"Yes, they're fine. Why wouldn't they be?"

"Oh, no reason, it's just you can get really shaken up by those kinds of things, ya know?" Grace continued. The woman merely nodded. "Say, I was wondering if you knew where Faye and Giles are right now?"

"Yes, I do know," the woman said, eyeing Grace with suspicion, "but how did you know where Fay lived?"

Grace was growing anxious now. She couldn't afford to be answering questions and sincerely hoped her spell worked. "Where are Faye and Giles right now?" she queried, outright ignoring the woman's question. Grace was amazed to find that the words poured out of the woman's mouth – the street name; the apartment building; the flat number… all of it.

The woman's expression became wrought with sudden confusion as the truth was forced out of her.

"What's your name?" Graced asked, revelling in the spell's effects.

"Felicity," the woman answered.

"Well, thanks Felicity!" Grace beamed as she spun around and bolted down the stone steps.

"HEY!" Felicity yelled, raising her hand as if to let loose her magical abilities. She stopped herself as she noticed civilians walking along the street. For the sake of all magic being exposed she lowered her hand in defeat, watching the mysterious stranger grow smaller and smaller as she ran into the distance.

* * *

Charlotte had finally settled on a plan of action: simply talk to her alternate aunts and discuss her problem. It was the most rational thing to do, right?

She strolled up the long road of Prescott Street she saw the unique outline of the Halliwell Manor draw near. As she reached the steps that led up to the front porch she noticed a man who seemed to be doing the same. He was tall and handsome with a head of ruffled brown hair and wore denim jeans with a leather coat. Charlotte recognised him immediately.

"Clay!" she called, running over to him.

He seemed confused as he had no idea who she was. "I'm sorry, do I know you?" he wondered.

"Heh, no, but I know you," the young witch smiled. "Anyway, let's cut the chit-chat: I need your help. This world isn't real. We're just in a storybook that Phoebe's written and I think you're the key to getting me out of here since I only read up to your story," she waffled.

"Is this some kind of lame joke?" he said with a disgusted look on his face as he turned away from her to the steps that led to the Halliwell Manor.

"No, of course not!" she urged, "I think it's something to do with the Urn."

Clay spun around to face her. "You know about the Urn?" he said with a whimper of fear in his voice.

"Oh, yeah, that. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone you stole it – or that it's cursed," Charlotte joked.

Clay's expression grew dark as he stepped towards her and said: "Whatever you think you know you'd better keep to yourself. Or even better, just stay the hell away from me!" he backed away from her and swiftly bolted in the direction he'd originally came.

"Wait! I-" Charlotte called after him, "I need you to get out of here…" she finished softly. Her face fell as the man she needed to get out of this dreamt-up world faded from view along the long road of Prescott Street.

* * *

Phoebe sat in the conservatory with her laptop on the desk in front of her as she furiously typed away at the keypad, focusing on finishing her advice column.

"Done!" she exclaimed as she typed the final words. She had just finished sending her column to her boss, Elise Rothman, when a tall, pink light faded in behind her.

"Hey, honey," Phoebe smiled, flashing a content grin to her husband. Her smile fell when she saw Coop's face. "Coop? What's the matter?"

"Something's wrong," he said, "with you."

Phoebe seemed surprised. "However do you mean?"

"The Elders seem to think that you're in trouble – that your love is in jeopardy, more specifically."

"Why would they think that?" Phoebe asked.

"I don't know, but it's what they think – and I'm gonna get to the bottom of it," he said as he stepped closer to his wife. He hovered his hand over Phoebe's heart and the large, enamelled ring on his index finger glowed with a bold, pink light. Coop concentrated as he scanned her heart for any glitches. The ring began to rapidly pulse a myriad of sparkling colours. "Something is wrong with the love in your past," Coop deduced.

"What? How? Has someone gone back in time to screw with my history?" Phoebe rambled.

"I don't know, but I think we need to have another trip through time again," Coop said as her held his wife's hand. "Are you ready?"

"Wait, we can't just go without telling the girls," she replied before shuffling to the stairs. "Girls? Your father and I are just going out for a while, we'll be back soon, okay?" she called up. Phoebe waited for an answer but did not receive one. She shot Coop a confused and concerned look. She dashed up the stairs with Coop in hot pursuit.

"Girls?" Phoebe called out again, "Penny! Charlotte!… Grace?" Phoebe turned to Penny's bedroom and pushed the door open, making her way into the room. Her body tensed and she sharply gasped as visions flashed in her mind.

_Grace struggled as a golden mist encased her body and sent her zooming into the open storybook. The imaged flashed as Charlotte suffered the same fate. Another flash saw Penelope also be consumed by the wisps as she valiantly tried to escape using her powers. The mist devoured her whole and swiftly streamed through the air across the attic, down the stairs and into Penny's room before finally zooming into the storybook._

Phoebe was freed from the premonition as her vision returned to that of her daughter's messy room.

"What did you see?" Coop said, entering the room and setting his hands gently on her shoulders.

"Grace, Charlotte and Penny… being magically transported into my novel," Phoebe answered. Her gaze was drawn to the floor. She bent down, picked up a scrap of paper and read what was written on its surface. She sighed and brought her hands to her face, "I knew that book was a bad idea!"

"Hey, it's not your fault," Coop reassured her.

"We need to get them out of there," Phoebe said. She moved to the dresser where her storybook lay. She picked it up and noticed something odd about it straight away. "Coop… are these pages… glowing?" she asked, pointing at three thin lines that stuck out like a demon at a wiccaning.

"Which pages are they?" Coop said, urging her to open the book.

Phoebe flipped through the book and skimmed past each of the glowing title pages. Her heart sank with age page she read. They were entitled: "_Urning Redemption_", "_The Half-Blood Demon_" and "_The Man Who Was Meant To Die_".

"Oh, no!" Phoebe breathed as she read the titles.

"What's wrong?" Coop enquired.

"These pages detail kinda terrifying parts of my life where love was either waxing or waning," Phoebe replied, "and if the girls have been sent to these parts of my past they could be in a whole lot of danger!"

"Which parts of your past, if you don't mind me asking?"

"When I was seeing Clay, Cole and Miles."

"Ah, I see…" Coop gave a forced smile through what was really concern.

"Should we go back through time again, to visit my past loves?" Phoebe asked.

"That won't work this time, I'm afraid. The girls aren't in your past. They're in your story, in your heart. This will be tricky."

"Then how are we supposed to get them out of there? The story could change or they could be _killed_ by it! I've seen magical stories bite people in the ass before!" the mother-witch feared.

"If they change the story it could change you, Phoebe. Love is what you are, and if that love is changed there's no knowing what the consequences could be. But not to fear, we'll think of something," he smiled down at his concerned wife. "Say, is that the spell they used?"

"Yeah," Phoebe passed the scrap of paper to her husband as he read what was written on its surface, "do you think we can null the effects of the spell?"

"I think we can, actually. This spell was made for the pursuit of love – the girls clearly wanted to know what your past loves were like. If that's the case, then the pursuit of the love of our daughters should be enough to reverse the spell they cast, with a little help from Cupid," he said as he flashed his ring once more.

Coop gently took the book from his wife and set it down on Penny's bed. He made a fist and pointed his ring at the book. A pink beam of light burst from the ring and made contact with the tome and engulfed it whole. The cupid concentrated for a moment, attempting to retrieve the lost love of his daughters and bring them back into the real world. Coop's ring flashed again and the beam of light disappeared. The book didn't stir.

"What if I say a spell to help it along?" Phoebe suggested. Coop tried once again, aiming the beam of light from his ring at the storybook as Phoebe said the following words:

"_Love was sought and love was lost,  
Find it now: avoid the costs,  
Return the girls that were took,  
Eject our daughters from this book."_

The light that surrounded the tome radiated outwards before dissipating. Both Phoebe and Coop stood for a moment and waited for something to happen: but alas, nothing did.

"Ugh!" Phoebe cried in frustration. "Why can't we get them out?"

"Maybe they're actively part of the chapters now? The stories may have to play themselves out before they can be returned to our world," Coop mused.

"If that's the case, I sincerely hope that they haven't changed the flow of the stories already," Phoebe said, "who knows what could happen?"

Coop stepped close to his wife and pulled her into a tight hug as the two of them hoped with all their hearts that their daughters would return home safe and sound.

* * *

**Author's Note: Please leave a review!**


	4. Lost in Literature

**Disclaimer:**

**I do not own Charmed or any of its established characters. Any non-canon characters and situations are of my own creation.**

* * *

**Episode 1x02:  
**"The Write Kind of Love"

The loud ringing of the home phone echoed through the Halliwell household as Phoebe hastily rushed over to it and answered.

"Hello?" she said into the device, "oh, hey Piper – just the person I needed to talk to! Penny and- … what? The Woogy? Wyatt? How?... I'm sorry but I can't come over right now, as the girls are missing in action and I can't get ahold of them – and we know it's magical… No, I haven't seen Wyatt today – I'm not sure if our problems are linked… You: Wyatt, me: girls, okay, got it. Talk to you later, sweetie," she finished, hanging up the phone.

"Is everything okay?" Coop asked as he entered the hallway.

"No, it's not," Phoebe answered bluntly. "Not only are the girls missing, but Wyatt's been possessed by a demon we thought was long gone. I'm torn: I want to help Piper but I can't abandon the girls right now when they need us the most."

"I know, honey, and I'm sure Piper knows that too," the cupid assured her as he stepped closer to his wife and took her hand in his.

Phoebe smiled, "You always know what to say."

"I wouldn't be a very good Cupid if I didn't," he joked.

A sudden knocking on the door drew their attention away from each other and to the door.

"What if it's Wyatt?" Phoebe wondered.

"You mean demon-Wyatt?"

"Please don't refer to our nephew as that… but yes…" the worried witch replied.

"Why would he come here? And why would he be using the front door?"

"Why does anything happen in Magic?"

Phoebe began tip-toeing closer to the door and signalled for Coop to follow. The duo crept closer to the door before stopping. _Three…Two…One_, Phoebe signalled with her fingers, preparing herself before she swiftly opened the door.

Two men, one had short, spiky blond hair and thick-rimmed glasses framing his face, and the other Phoebe recognised as Penny's boss, Dave.

"Oh, hello, Dave," Phoebe said, relaxing her tensed and ready-to-fight body. "What brings you here?"

As he opened his mouth to speak, the other man cut across him abruptly. "Where is Penelope? She's late for her shoot! It's of the utmost importance that she's there!"

Phoebe shot Coop an awkward glance. "I, uh, I'm afraid she's fallen ill," she answered as she watched the man's expression turn sour, "yeah, it was really sudden and she didn't have time to call. Okay, buh-bye now," Phoebe tried to cut short the conversation by closing the door.

"I'm afraid that just isn't good enough!" Charles called out, holding open the door. "I must see her!" he said, trying to barge the door open and enter the house.

At this point, Coop jumped in, holding the door with a strong grip and looming over his wife like a protective father-bear. "Penny is unwell, and there will be no visitors," he said firmly, staring the impatient man square in the eyes. "However," he said, his expression softening, "what if… Phoebe took her place?" Phoebe shot him a horrified look as he smiled down at her. "After all, she has been the face of the Bay Mirror's _Ask Phoebe_ for twenty-four years and has had many photo shoots in her time." He leaned over and whispered into his wife's ear: "Penny needs to keep her job, after all."

This seemed to engage Charles' interests. "I knew I recognised that face from somewhere!" he exclaimed, taking Phoebe's delicate hand, "well my dear, aren't you exquisite?"

A sudden laugh of shock and happiness burst out of Phoebe as a smile spread across her lips. She leaned close to Coop and said, "You hear that? _Exquisite!_"

"This may be a good opportunity," Dave chimed in, "after all, Phoebe would fit right into the theme of the shoot, as it seems she's had a run in with the Fountain of Youth itself." The witch suppressed a giggle at the unintentional irony. "…At no extra cost?" he gave Phoebe a pleading look, as if that would be the only thing to please his client.

"Oh, of course – no extra cost," the mother witch agreed.

"Oh yes! And we could set up the spread as mother and daughter, as the both of you are flawless!" Charles reeled on, lost in his thoughts.

"So it's settled then?" Coop urged.

"I would think so," Dave said. Phoebe nodded nervously.

"Okay then!" Charles exclaimed, clapping his hands together in excitement.

Phoebe hurriedly put on her coat and grabbed her handbag before giving her husband a quick peck on the cheek. "Wish me luck," she said, sending Coop a look of excitement mixed with worry.

Coop waved to his wife as she was whisked off to the photo shoot. He closed the door and sighed heavily, wondering if today was going to get any more complicated.

* * *

Grace entered the block of apartments that Felicity had unwillingly told her about. She climbed the stairs and hurriedly made her way to Giles' apartment. She finally stood outside his door. Grace stood still for a moment, practicing what she was going to say to Faye and Giles in her mind. She pulled herself together and knocked on the door.

Footsteps came closer to the door before it opened, revealing Faye.

"Oh," Faye said, surprised, "I didn't expect to see you here… how did you know where we'd be?" her expression suddenly soured, "Wait – have you been stalking us?"

"No, it's not like that! I just wanted to make sure they you and Giles were okay. What happened today was borderline traumatic for all of us and I just had to make sure that the both of you were okay. It's not every day that you escape Death," Grace pleaded.

Faye narrowed her eyes at the notion of Death, "In that case, thank you. I appreciate the gesture, I really do, but we're fine."

"There's nothing that I can do?" Grace asked.

"Nothing. We're fine, really. Have a good day now," Faye said before shutting the door in the young witch's face.

Grace sighed and brought her hands to her face, knowing that she'd failed her mission. Deflated and demoralised, she slowly headed back down the stairs from whence she came, trying to think of another way to let Death's list continue the way it should: with Giles.

* * *

Charlotte had re-evaluated her plan. Since being direct and to the point with Clay hadn't worked the way she had hoped, Charlotte realised that she'd have to be subtle and worm her way into the Charmed One's trust, since they were as likely to believe her truthful story as much as Clay did.

She mounted the steps leading up to the Halliwell Manor and stopped when she came to the front door. "Okay, now or never…" she mumbled to herself before rapping her knuckles against the wooden door.

A moment later the door opened and revealed a woman who looked exactly like her Aunt Prue. "May I help you?" she enquired.

"Yes, actually… but this isn't a normal request…" Charlotte leaned forward and lowered her voice, "I need your help as The Charmed Ones."

The woman's eyes widened. "Oh, I-uh, why don't you come in?" she said, ushering Charlotte inside the Manor. "Felicity! Faye! We have company!" the woman called out to her sisters.

"Fran, what is it?" Faye asked as she and Felicity came running down the stairs.

"We have a problem," Fran answered, "a magical problem."

The four of them sat down in the parlour on the comfortable sofas with the three sisters gathered around Charlotte.

"So, who are you, exactly?" Fran enquired.

"My name is Charlotte and I'm a witch, like the three of you."

"And what do you need us for?" Felicity probed.

"I'm here about the Urn."

The three sisters shared a swift, curious glance at eat other. "How do you know about that?" Faye asked, leaning forward to hear what the guest had to say.

"It-uh, it's the reason that my uncle is dead," Charlotte lied. "He was killed by a spider bite in Cairo. He was found dead at the site that had been broken into and an urn had been stolen. After that I did some reading and found information about a cursed Urn that is protected by a vengeful spirit who punishes those who she judges to be greedy by killing them with venomous animal attacks… with my uncle being one of those victims," she hung her head, playing the part of a grieving niece.

"I still don't understand how that brought you to us," Felicity said, "how did that lead you here?"

"Or better yet: if you're a witch, what's your power?" Faye chimed in with her guard up, having dealt with wiccan-wannabes in the past.

"I'm an empath. My power is to feel peoples' emotions," she answered, "and it led me to you. The Guardian of the Urn is a vengeful spirit, and I've been sensing a lot of vengeance around the city for the past few days. I felt her, I know she's here," at least this was true: Charlotte had felt and almost experienced the wrath of the Guardian.

"There's also the fact of spiders in Cairo and now a random scorpion sting death in San Francisco. That's suspicious enough, and any witch who's worth a damn knows who you three are," the empath finished.

"How do we know you're telling the truth?" Faye said with narrowed eyes. She had a point, considering almost everything Charlotte was saying was in fact a lie.

The witch-cupid focused on the three sisters and let their emotions seep into her heart. "Fran, you're annoyed with Faye because you think that she should be more careful about the men she's with; Faye, you think that Fran automatically jumps to bad conclusions about the men you date; and Felicity, you think that Fran should give Faye a break."

The three sisters sat there, stunned. "Okay, we believe you," Fran flashed an awkward smile, not wanting to feel the unhappy glare from her youngest sister.

"But how can we help you?" Felicity cut across the tension.

"…I need your help in getting rid of her. I want to make sure she can't hurt anyone else," Charlotte said, feigning sincerity.

"Oh, honey, using vengeance to fight against vengeance isn't always the answer," Felicity said, reaching out her hand to comfort the empath.

"Besides, we're not sure if there's even a way to vanquish her. She's a guardian, not an aggressor… she might just be doing her job," Fran stated.

Felicity shot her older sister a look, "But, since you're here, you might as well help us. You might prove useful," she smiled. Charlotte smiled back, secretly hoping she knew what she was getting herself into.

* * *

Grace left the apartment block disheartened. She didn't want to give up, to give into her overwhelming feelings of failure, but it was very hard for her to keep her head high when the one chance at getting out of this mess was swiftly swept under the carpet as if it was nothing. As the negativity in her mind grew, she was completely unaware of the swirl of darkness in front of her materialise into a familiar figure.

"I wouldn't leave if I were you, Grace," Death said, making Grace jump in fright. "You still have to right what was wronged."

"I tried! But Faye won't give me the time to try and help out."

"Because she doesn't want your help, Grace. Nor does she need it. It is I that needs it."

"But how am I supposed to help you when this whole situation is so messed up?" she vented, "How am I supposed to not only let Giles die but also keep Faye from protecting him?"

"I don't know how you should do it – as long as it is done. You got yourself into this mess and now it is time to get yourself out of it," Death said, unsympathetic to Grace's frustration.

"I don't know what to do!" Grace cried, annoyance building up inside of her.

"Listen, Grace. If you don't fix this, it won't just be Faye and Giles that are going to die… but Phoebe as well."

Grace was stunned. "How do you know about Phoebe? We're inside a stupid book, that's all!"

"Death is everywhere, Grace. In this book, in the real world… everywhere, and so am I," Death answered. "You have time to save your mother, Grace. How much? That's hard for me to say," he flicked his wrist and his list appeared in his hand once more. The names _Faye Warren, Giles Richardson_ and _Phoebe Halliwell_ were edging closer and closer to the top of the list. "Whatever you need to do to save her you'd better do it fast." Death said.

"I don't believe you!" Grace huffed, rushing past the messenger of Death, her arm feeling numb and cold as it past through him. As she made contact with the ethereal being, her whole body tensed as multiple visions took a hold of all her senses:

_Grace saw glimpses of Faye saving Giles multiple times: saving him from the bullet in the alleyway, saving him from an evil attack in the Manor's dining room, pulling Giles to safety from his apartment balcony ledge. The vision fast forwarded to a __figure we know as the time-travelling warlock Bacarra launching a powerful ball of fire at Faye, reducing her to a pile of steaming dust as Death himself whisks Faye's spirit off to the Afterlife. The focus shifted to Grace's home, where Phoebe suddenly collapses to the floor: dead._

_The scenery changed to that of an office. Faye, Felicity and Fran burst into the room and gaze upon a giant urn on the the desk. The glyphs on it's surface glow and a tall, foreboding figure appears before them and enchants a piece of jewelery into a venomous snake. It lashes out and bite's Faye's wrist. She falls to her knees as the venom courses through her body before falling into her hysterical sisters' arms. __The focus shifts to the Halliwell household once again, where Phoebe clasps at her wrist suddenly, falls to her knees as an agonising pain surges through her body as she slumps to the floor: dead._

_Again the imagery changed, this time to that of a dank mausoleum. Faye rushes in and notices a gaping hole in the wall to find a dying Cole/Belthazor lying on the grass outside. She curls her arms around her lover as tears pour from her eyes as the love of her life dies. A sudden flash lead's Grace's vision back to the house she grew up in, where a smiling Phoebe has an instant mood swing, clasping her heart as her warm, inviting smile changes to that of a cold, blank stare, as the love in her heart dies and she grows old and cold._

Grace was released from her lengthy premonition, staring at the Angel of Death before her with terror and disbelief. "I-I-I don't understand..." she said, forcing the tears to stay away, "I didn't change three stories! Just the one! How am I possibly meant to fix all of this!"

"You're not the only Halliwell who is where she shouldn't be," Death replied. "And you're not the only one making dire mistakes. Grace, time is running out. I don't usually give warning to those who're to die, but ever since I was intertwined with your family my work has been a great deal more complicated. Do what you must to make things right, or your mother will be paying for the consequences with her life, and her love," he said gently before disappearing in a wisp of black fog.

Grace's head was spinning. Her own stupidity and use of magic for personal gain was going to lead to her mother's death. She leaned against the apartment block wall and slumped downwards until her knees were curled up to her chest. Her emotions blazed and her heart was pained. She was terrified - the fear of losing her mother and being trapped inside the story world forever overwhelmed her. The hope of saving the day was almost extinguished. She thought of all the things she had just seen: her mother's death over and over because of her's - and presumably her sisters' - silly meddling. Hot tears streamed down her flushed cheeks as she wished with all her heart that her sisters knew where she was, what they had done wrong and what was going to happen to their mother if they did not set things right.

* * *

Charlotte sat with the storybook version of her aunts in the parlour as a great emotional distress overwhelmed her heart. A sudden vision clouded her mind, showing her Faye dying because of the Guardian's charm-induced snake attack, and of Phoebe suffering the same venomous end. She gasped and put her hand to her heart as her sight returned to normal and a tear slid down her cheek.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" Felicity said, concerned about the young witch.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," Charlotte lied, trying to normalise her breathing while processing the emotions that were nearly consuming her whole. "I guess I didn't realise how much this all got to me," she sniffled, having her hand in front of her face in an attempt to cool the sudden flush in her cheeks. "C-could I please use the bathroom?"

"Oh, of course!" Fran said, helping the distressed empath to her feet. "Up the stairs – second room on your left."

Charlotte thanked her and made her way up the stairs. She came to the bathroom and dived at the sink, turning the taps and splashing water onto her hot cheeks. "Oh, Gracie," she whispered to herself, "what have we gotten ourselves into?" Charlotte could feel everything that Grace felt: the fear of losing their mother, the desire to give up and the realisation that they must set things right if they were to ever leave this hell. She felt particularly haunted by the sight of her mother dying because of her own mistake.

The middle-sister dried her face on a towel before an idea sparked in her mind. If she had to fix what was wronged to escape this story world, then that's what she would do.

Charlotte carefully slipped out of the bathroom and tip-toed down the corridor, wracking her brain, trying to remember which of the bedrooms used to belong to her mother. She took a chance and slowly opened the door in front of her. Jackpot!

She entered to the room and swiftly scanned the area, looking for something that she could use to fix her predicament. Her eye was drawn to the bedside cabinet which had a post-it note sprawled on top of its surface. Charlotte crossed the room and picked up the note and read what was written on it: "Clay" with his cell phone number following. The witch smiled and stuffed the note into her pocket. She rushed out of the room and gently shut the bedroom door behind her. The sound of footsteps made their way up the stairs. Charlotte glided over to the bathroom and pulled the door to a close, as someone made the final step to the top of the stairs and stood beside her.

"Are you okay?" a voice asked. Charlotte turned to face the voice and found it was Faye.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Charlotte said genuinely, as her sister's emotions that washed over her had began to lessen in intensity. "Although, I think I should go."

"Oh? How come? Didn't you want to stay and help with the Guardian?"

"Yeah, I did, but it was wrong of me to come here and make such a request," the youngest witch sighed, "Pi-Felicity is right: vengeance for vengeance's sake isn't the answer."

Faye smiled. "Okay then, honey. Come on," the witch said softly, ushering the blonde witch into a light hug. The two then headed down the stairs.

"Is everything okay?" Fran asked.

"Yeah, it's fine. I should be leaving now. I shouldn't be helping for the wrong reasons – and besides, if someone is to put an end to the Guardian, it'll be you, the Charmed Ones, the most powerful witches of all time," Charlotte smiled at the two elder Warren witches who smiled back.

"Thank you for having me, and I'm sorry for wasting your time," the witch-cupid said as she stepped out of the front door.

"Don't be silly," Felicity said.

"You're welcome here any time," Fran added.

Charlotte waved them goodbye before quickly descending the stone stones to Prescott Street. When she was out of sight of the Manor, she retrieved the post-it note from her pocket and read over it once again. She knew that she wouldn't be able to use her cell phone, as the network she was with didn't exist in 1998. Luckily enough there was a pay phone a few hundred yards away from her. Charlotte rushed to it and stepped inside.

She hurriedly dialled the number and waited for a response. "Come on, Clay, pick up," she grumbled. She huffed as the call went straight through to the answer machine. After the beep Charlotte began to reel off her message: "Clay, this is Charlotte again – and don't hang up! Hear me out, please? It doesn't matter if I was telling the truth before and it doesn't matter how I got your number right now, all that does matter is that if you don't get your ass back to Phoebe soon she is going to die! Can you really handle letting someone you've loved die because of your own actions? You know what you did and now it's time to face the music. Man up and protect her!"

Charlotte set the phone down back on its stand and hoped with all her hearth that it was enough to alter the course of the story, and enough to put an end to her mother's demise.

* * *

A rushing figure dashed up the long road of Prescott Street in the hopes of finding three very important people. Penelope regretted wearing heels at this present moment in time, as they are not good for running in!

She swiftly climbed the rock steps that led up to the front door of the famous Halliwell Manor. Penny arrived at the porch and knocked on the wooden door in front of her when it suddenly opened almost instantly, answered by two women who looked identical to her aunts Piper and Prue.

"Whatever it is you're selling, we don't have time for it at the minute," the Prue-lookalike quipped, retreating into the hallway.

"I'm not selling anything! I'm here to see Faye," the witch-cupid insisted.

"Well, she's not here at the minute and we're really busy, so if you don't mind…" the woman who looked like Aunt Piper chimed.

"You don't understand, I really need to see Faye, or you two, for that matter."

"As much as we like being second best, we really have to go. Felicity, please freeze her," Fran ordered. Her sister flicked her wrist and attempted to stop the stranger in her tracks – but to no avail.

"Why isn't it working?" Fran asked, eyeing Penny suspiciously.

"That's what I'm trying to tell you!" Penny cried in frustration. "I'm a witch and I need your help."

"Get in line, sister, there's an orderly queue with every other witch, demon and warlock in San Francisco," Felicity said sarcastically.

Penny rolled her eyes. "Well, maybe I can help you?"

"Unless you know how to stop some upper-level demons who're hell-bent on destroying everything good in the world, we're really not interested," Fran snapped, grabbing her coat from its peg.

"Who do you mean - Belthazor?" Penny asked.

Fran and Felicity froze and glanced at each other. "How do you know about Belthazor?"

"Oh, I took him out at the cemetery just before," Penny answered as if it was no big feat.

"Ha, I highly doubt that," Fran retorted with a laugh. "Faye vanquished him a month ago with the-"

"Vanquising potion?" Penny finished. "Yeah, that didn't happen. Vanquishing scorch marks still appear when the potion comes into contact with the smallest amount of the demon's blood, after all."

Felicity and Fran glanced at each other once again. Fran's eyes narrowed. "You're not lying, are you?" she asked.

"Why would I be lying?" Penny responded. "Believe me, don't believe me – whatever. I just have to see Faye."

"Oh, believe _me_, you won't be the only one seeing her," the eldest witch retorted with anger in her eyes.

"You can't seriously believe her, Fran?" Felicity urged. "A stranger out of the blue just pops up and says that Belthazor wasn't really vanquished? Doesn't that seem a little odd or convenient to you?"

"What does seem odd is Phoebe wandering off out numerous times a week. How do we know she wasn't off to meet her boyfriend who _should_ be beyond the grave right about now?"

"But we don't know she is either!" the younger sister pleaded.

"It's not as if Phoebe hasn't lied for men before," Fran snapped at her sister.

Felicity sighed and turned to Penny and asked, "When you said you _took out _Belthazor… Do you mean you vanquished him?"

"No, I'm not that powerful. I just left him by a mausoleum."

"Oh, good – you left us another demon to vanquish," Fran said, annoyance clear in her voice. She turned to Felicity and said, "right, priorities: first we vanquish our demons and save our innocent; then we make a little trip to the cemetery and, if Belthazor is still alive we vanquish his sorry ass once and for all and lastly: we'll have a chat with our darling little sister. Come on," Fran commanded, putting on her coat and dragging Felicity along with her.

"Hey, wait! You can't _vanquish_ Belthazor! Not now!" Penny called.

"Oh yeah? Watch us!" Fran yelled back.

"Crap. I really shouldn't have said all that, should I?" Penny muttered to herself as she bit her lip in awkward guilt once again as she watched her otherworldly aunts drive off into the distance.

* * *

**Author's Note: PLEASE leave a review!**


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